Guest recipes with Tonia Buxton

Putting almonds to sweet use

 

Fig and Almond Cake with Orange Blossom Yogurt

200g unsalted butter at room temperature

75g brown sugar

3 medium eggs

180g ground almonds

100g wholemeal flour

½ tsp salt

1 vanilla pod, split in half and seeds scraped out

1 tsp ground cinnamon

100g Greek yogurt

4 tsp ground cloves

a pinch of saffron threads (optional)

12 figs

For the orange blossom yogurt

100g Greek yogurt

25g icing sugar or 1 tbsp honey

4–5 tbsp orange blossom water

 

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line the base and sides of a 24cm loose-bottomed cake tin with baking paper.

Beat the butter and sugar together with a hand-held electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat each egg separately, then, with the machine on medium speed, add them one at a time to the bowl, adding another only once the previous egg is fully combined.

Mix the almonds, flour, salt, vanilla seeds, saffron threads and cinnamon together in a bowl, then fold into the cake mixture. Mix until smooth, then fold in the yogurt.

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and level roughly with a palette knife or a spoon.

Cut each fig vertically into four wedges and arrange in circles on top of the cake, just slightly immersed in the cake mixture.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 170C and continue baking for 60 minutes, or until it’s fi rm to the touch.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin.

To serve, mix all the orange blossom yogurt ingredients together in a bowl and serve with the cake.

 

 

Orange, Cardamom and Almond Cake

Zest and juice of 2 large oranges

250g dried pitted dates, chopped

200g butter, softened

150g light muscovado sugar

4 medium eggs

250g spelt flour

1 tsp baking powder

seeds from 10 cardamom pods, crushed

100g ground almonds

50g pistachio nuts, bashed

a pinch of salt

1 small orange, finely sliced, to decorate

4 tbsp icing sugar

 

Preheat the oven to 140C. Line the base of a 21cm loose-bottomed cake tin with baking paper.

Set aside 2 tbsp of the orange juice and a little of the zest, then place the rest in a small saucepan with the dates and heat for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Using an electric whisk, beat the butter and light muscovado sugar together in a bowl for 3 minutes until pale and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding 1 tbsp of the flour to stop it from curdling. Fold in the remaining flour, the baking powder, cardamom seeds, ground almonds, pistachios and a pinch of salt.

Stir in the cooled dates and juice mixture, then spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. Level the surface and decoratively lay the orange slices on the surface of the cake mixture.

Bake for 1 hour 50 minutes–2 hours or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the tin for 30 minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack.

When the cake has cooled completely, mix the reserved orange juice and zest and the icing sugar together to make an icing. Drizzle over the cake and serve.

 

Tonia Buxton has written four cookbooks and is a well-known TV celebrity and chef. For more information visit toniabuxton.co.uk